-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Newly-crowned Dunhill Links champion Martin Kaymer could prevent Lee Westwood from replacing Tiger Woods as the world 's number one golfer .

The German rose to fourth in the world on Monday after winning his third successive tournament on the European Tour at St Andrews , and now has the chance to overtake Woods , Westwood and American Phil Mickelson at the top of the game .

Westwood failed to achieve the second-place finish which would have seen him end Woods ' 279-week reign on Sunday , but the Englishman could still top the rankings on October 31 providing the American does not change his plans and play before then .

However , Kaymer 's decision to enter the Andalucia Valderrama Masters in Spain at the end of this month means the 25-year-old could yet be the one to take over from the off-form Woods .

Victory there would mean August 's winner of the U.S. PGA Championship becomes just the 12th player to top the rankings since they were introduced in 1986 .

Kaymer is the first player since Woods in 2006 to win three tournaments back-to-back , and the first golfer from Europe to do so since Englishman Nick Faldo in 1998 .

After his latest triumph , Kaymer told reporters he had no idea why he was enjoying such a good run of form .

`` I was never expecting it and I do n't really have an answer for why I am playing so well at the moment , '' he said .

`` I 've always played solid golf and my short game has improved big-time the last two years and especially the last few months . ''

The win came less than a week after Kaymer was part of the victorious European Ryder Cup team who beat America at Celtic Manor in Wales , where he played with Westwood .

`` The way he played with me last week was absolutely amazing . He played so solidly , '' Kaymer said .

`` His putting was good , chipping -- the entire game was fantastic . I really see him as a role model . ''

Westwood will now take a month-long break from the sport to recover from an ongoing calf injury , which clearly hampered his progress at the home of golf over the weekend .

It is expected the 37-year-old will return for the season-ending championship in Dubai which starts on November 25 .

The only way Woods can retain his five-year long stint as world number one is to play another tournament in October , but he is not due to return to action until the HSBC Champions event in China on November 4 -- where Westwood was also scheduled to appear .

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Martin Kaymer enters race to replace Tiger Woods as world 's number one golfer

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German rose to fourth in world on Monday after winning his third successive tournament

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Westwood failed to achieve the second-place finish which would have ended Woods ' 279-week reign

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Kaymer will now play in Spain at the end of October and could become number one